Transparency
by don't resist
Summary: prompt 5: transparent;; how to replace your favorite thing.


transparency

A ShikaHina Ficlet?

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There were three things in the world that she couldn't live without. These things made up her life, and they couldn't be replaced. She wouldn't water her life down with replacements, after all, or else she wouldn't be the same Hinata she'd always been.

The first thing she needed in her life: tea. She needed one hot cup of tea when she woke up every morning, a cup of tea to cool her nerves throughout the day, and a cup of tea to help her ready for sleep. She needed this to make certain that she was still in control, that she was still aware of herself, her surroundings, her life.

The second thing on this list: words. She was never very good at using them, a stutter always seeming to hold her back, but they were still so necessary. She needed them to let the world know she was still there, that she wouldn't back down. She wouldn't just _stop_ for the sake of a speech impediment. She needed these to prove herself, her worth, her existence.

The last thing she needed: a smile. She never seemed very confident in her expressions, but it was important to her to find a smile on someone else to focus on. At first, it had been Naruto, a beacon of sunshine and radiancy that nearly blinded her when she looked at him. His smile seemed to fade, however, and she had to find another smile to look at. It was necessary to prove that it was okay to be happy.

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She searched for a smile that made her heart leap. No one ever seemed super ecstatic through everything, and that seemed all right. For a period. But she needed a smile to look at, to look forward to. She kept her eyes up, even when her feet were where she wanted to look, and she found it. It was small at first, mostly bored, but the more she saw of that smile, the more she liked it.

It wasn't always there. It faded, and it returned, and it would hide for days, but it would always come back. Still, she wanted to see it over and over. It was an addiction, but it was necessary, she kept telling herself.

The smile was never for her, and that was all right. For a time. But she wanted more, she craved more, because that smile was what she'd been missing. It was okay to be happy every so often. She saw that in his smile, in his eyes, and the boredom he attempted to exude from every pore.

She wouldn't stand idly by any further and let him continue to smile at other people, or even to himself as she noticed on occasion. She couldn't just let him slip away and let his smile and radiance fade as her childhood crush's had. She had to do something.

It took a practiced hello, something that took two weeks to perfect, and an offer for tea. The two things in her life that meant the most, and it brought out the third necessity in her life. He smiled. At her. For her. And it was brilliant.

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There were three things Shikamaru needed in his life. They weren't really _necessities_, not truly, but they mattered to him. They were the reasons he woke up in the morning and dreamed on the daily. The list was short, but it was every bit as important as breathing.

First on his list: tea. He needed it to wake up, to pour himself over his work and his life. He needed it to remind himself that there was a time and place for being conscious, and more often than not, it was there to wake him up or put him to sleep. He needed it to keep a rhythm in his life, a conscious decision that he made and no one else.

Second thing he needed in his life: imagination. It gave him something to do throughout the day on his own. When no one would spend time with him, he would allow his mind to wander and wander. It spun tales for him, it solved problems, it made things _easy_, but somehow, it complicated everything in a delicious way. He needed this to give him something to do, to put his mind to work.

The final necessary thing on his list: nonchalance. There was nothing wrong with caring. There was nothing wrong with smiling every so often and emoting something other than carelessness. He never saw it as a weakness, and yet it was. It was his weakness, and so he prefered his carefree, unemotional way of life.

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The mask cracked every so often. There was smile here, a smirk there, an occasional laugh. He meant them, each and every one, and yet they never stayed for longer than a short moment. There had to be more than that, however. Didn't there?

Maybe that was why when the shy Hyuuga girl stepped up to him, he let it slip. He smiled at her, almost a grin, and she _blushed_ back at him. It couldn't be that bad. It couldn't be so awful that she was embarrassed to be seen with him, but it didn't stop there.

He couldn't keep that smile from his features. He couldn't stop the amusement on his face even as he sat and sipped at the top priority in his life. They smiled together. They laughed together. They talked to one another.

He was patient as she spoke. She was open-minded as he prattled on. She didn't hang on to his every word, and he liked that, but she did seem to light up when he smiled, and maybe his uncaring mask was starting to lift, at least for that afternoon, but his expression mirrored her amusement and happiness and carefree emotions.

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They went to tea again. They sat side-by-side, talking, listening, sipping tea. It made sense, after all.

He liked sitting here, he liked listening to her, he liked the transparency he knew he was starting to exude around her. She loved the same things. She liked his smile, and even as the days passed on, and they continued their little ritual, it was wonderful.

When he said it, that he liked it, that he enjoyed their time together, she simply nodded her head.

"I know. Me too." That was that.

Maybe he would have to replace his third most important thing in his life with the way he liked the sound of that.

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Prompt number five. I might be trying to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully this suffices? Do leave some concrit if you have any, and thank you everyone for your patience. I owe you all so much.


End file.
